Lisa Sejkora, the Washington state high school principal who posted a message on Facebook about the 2003 rape allegation against Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant, has resigned after she was placed on leave because of death threats. The Camas High School principal suggested Bryant’s death in a Jan. 26 helicopter crash was “karma.” Sejkora apologized for her comments on Feb. 3 in an email to parents.
Camas School District Superintendent Jeff Snell said in a statement Friday he accepted Sejkora’s resignation, reports NBC News affiliate KGW.
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“This has been a tumultuous week, however, I’ve been impressed with the level of professionalism our staff members have displayed as well as the caring and compassion from our families,” Snell said in the statement.
On Jan. 26, the day of the crash, Sejkora wrote on Facebook, “Not gonna lie. Seems to me that karma caught up with a rapist today.” Sejkora later deleted the post and apologized for her comments.
“As a career educator, the only adult job I’ve ever had for 22 years, we try to teach kids to think before they act, think before they speak, think before they post. I clearly didn’t in this situation,” Sejkora said Tuesday, reports KGW. “I heard reports that Kobe Bryant had passed, just a visceral reaction to it. Posted quickly before I had any additional information.”
Sejkora later sent a letter to students and parents, in which she called her Facebook comments “inappropriate and tasteless.”
“I want to apologize for suggesting that a person’s death is deserved,” Sejkora wrote. “It was inappropriate and tasteless. … In education, we remind students to think before they post online, especially when feelings are inflamed. We also teach our students about context. My emotions and past experiences got the best of me in that moment. I’ve learned an important lesson and I hope that I can earn your trust back.”
On Tuesday, Snell put Sejkora on administrative leave “in light of threats to Dr. Liza Sejkora and concern from our community.”
However, the fallout from the post continued to build between Wednesday and Friday. On Wednesday, students planned for a walkout and almost half the student body was absent at Camas High School. However, the walkout was pushed to Thursday due to more online threats. It was scheduled for 1:04 p.m. and was planned to last nine minutes, one minute for each victim of the helicopter crash. There was also an increased police presence at the school.
“If it’s a disruption to the school environment, then it falls into a policy that we have,” Snell told KGW before Sejkora resigned. “Things like this get a life of their own in today’s world and it has become a disruption. That’s something we need to address.”
In 2003, a 19-year-old woman accused Bryant of sexual assault in Colorado. A week before the trial was supposed to start, the case was dismissed when the woman refused to testify. She later filed a civil suit, which ended after Bryant agreed to apologize to the alleged victim. Terms of the settlement were not made public.
Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna Bryant and seven others died in the helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. The retired basketball star was 41 years old.
Photo credit: Getty Images
